Ex-Lowell QB decides MSU is the right place

Future Spartan backfield suddenly more crowded

May 21, 2008

Nichol back: Former Lowell quarterback Keith Nichol said Tuesday that he plans to transfer to Michigan State after spending this past year at the University of Oklahoma. / LISA HALL/Oklahoma Media Relations

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Lansing State Journal

Keith Nichol will be a Michigan State Spartan after all. That is, after all kinds of twists and turns.

Nearly three years after Nichol originally gave a verbal commitment to MSU, he signed Tuesday to play in East Lansing.

In between, the much-celebrated quarterback wrapped up a prolific career at Lowell High, reopened his recruitment after MSU fired John L. Smith and hired Mark Dantonio in 2006, signed to play at Oklahoma, ended up third on the depth chart there last season as a freshman, got his release from the Sooners on May 9, and spent 10 days weighing his options.

MSU won out over Purdue, Cincinnati and Louisville. Nichol, ranked the No. 6 dual-threat quarterback in the nation out of high school by Rivals.com, said he decided Monday night and informed Dantonio with a phone call Tuesday morning.

"After being 1,000 miles away, it was very important to me to be close to my family, my friends, my girlfriend who is going to Central Michigan," the 19-year-old Nichol said. "I feel they have a championship-level program developing under coach Dantonio. I respect him a lot, and his staff, and I've met their families.

"It felt like home. I've been a Michigan State fan all my life."

By NCAA rule, Nichol will have to sit out the 2008 season, although he'll be able to practice. He'll have sophomore eligibility in '09, as will current MSU quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Nick Foles.

That would make for an interesting, three-way battle to replace 2008 senior Brian Hoyer as MSU's starting quarterback. The fathers of Cousins and Foles indicated last week that their sons would not consider transferring if Nichol joined the team.

After it was made official Tuesday, Don Cousins reiterated: "This doesn't change anything for Kirk."

Larry Foles, the father of Nick Foles, could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening. Foles, of Austin, Texas, originally committed to Arizona State out of high school, but switched to MSU after a coaching change at ASU - and in part because of the void left when Nichol opted for Oklahoma.

Asked if he considered the potential glut of sophomore quarterbacks in 2009, Nichol said: "I thought about it and said to myself, 'There's gonna be competition anywhere I go.' This is big-time, Division I football, you're not gonna get the quarterback position by default. You've got to compete and I'm not afraid of that."

Dantonio to comment

Dantonio will hold a news conference today to speak about the addition of Nichol. MSU's compliance staff was not able to review Nichol's paperwork on Tuesday to clear Dantonio for comment.

Nichol and his family visited MSU on Saturday, spending time with Dantonio and other members of MSU's coaching staff. After Dantonio was hired at MSU, Nichol met with MSU offensive coordinator Don Treadwell and opted for Oklahoma before a meeting with Dantonio.

"It was nothing personal against him, I wasn't mad at him, it just didn't feel right, you know?" Nichol said. "I was a 17-year-old kid. (MSU) didn't feel good to me at the time and Oklahoma had its thing going."

The backlash from MSU fans was intense at times.

"I got a lot of hate mail, but my family kept it from me," Nichol said. "I was like, 'You know, people are gonna do what they've got to do to make themselves feel better.' All that hate mail, none of it had a return address because no one wants to admit sending hate mail to a 17-year-old kid.

"I'm sure there's still gonna be people that dislike you, hold grudges and that kind of thing. But those people don't know what's going on, they don't know the whole situation. I'm not dissing MSU fans. There's gonna be grudges I'm sure, but I'm ready for whatever challenge."

As a three-year starter at Lowell High, Nichol went 33-3 with a state championship. He passed for 6,550 yards and 76 touchdowns, ran for 3,100 yards and 58 touchdowns and "at times was a man among boys, just incredible," Lowell coach Noel Dean said Tuesday.

After he was wooed to Oklahoma by coach Bob Stoops, Nichol took part in 2007 spring drills and competed for the starting job as a freshman. Redshirt freshman Sam Bradford ended up winning the job and having a huge season.

"Nothing's handed to you," Nichol said. "I learned that, and you know, I learned how to grow up. I was on my own, 1,000 miles away from home. I just grew up as a person, as a man. Nothing's gonna be handed to you just because of all the hype. I knew that already, but I saw it firsthand."